pages

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Whoa!! I almost forgot to post this video before the new year.
Here is a video of some tidbits from our trip to Oregon in October. I realized that I never shared my crazy traveling experience from Oregon back home here on the blog. So... continue to read if you love drama.

I was very nervous traveling solo with Gwen. I was convinced that I'd get lost in the airport and that she would just be difficult on all the flights. I got butterflies in my stomach whenever I would think about it. Well, the trip to Portland from Phoenix was a breeze, despite Gwen being fussy on the first flight. The other passengers didn't act too bothered by it. And let me tell you something- people are extra nice to you when you're flying solo with a baby. This was my experience, anyway. Someone always offered to carry my bags. It was the best. Despite my Ergobaby carrier breaking after our first flight (that was so annoying and Gwen got pretty heavy as I carried her and two bags around the airport), I felt confident after a good day of travel.

We had a fun time in Portland, as you can tell in the video. :) The day we left, we had to wake up around 4:30am. (Ew.) Holly kindly let me borrow her Ergobaby carrier for the trip home, which was greatly appreciated! We boarded the plane and Gwen fell asleep (yay!). We were in the air for maybe half an hour when we started to feel some turbulence. And then the TVs started to flash on and off. The pilot announced that the right right engine was "not responding" and that we'd have to turn back to Portland. I was more annoyed than scared at this point. This meant that I'd miss my connecting flight! We got back to the airport in safety and the crew gave us complimentary breakfast sandwiches and other snacks. So that was nice.... I called Ryan and Holly to say what was up. I made a call to get a new flight, but it was hours away. I had to wait around 5 hours in the airport with Gwen for our next flight. If you're stuck alone with a one year old in an airport here's a tip- find one of those flat escalator things and walk along it for as long as you can. We must have walked like 30 laps on those things. It was especially entertaining to see Gwen walk the opposite direction on one of them. That gave some people a few laughs.

After what seemed like an eternity, our plane was finally here!

And then they made an announcement that there was some maintenance to be done and the flight would be delayed by 30 minutes.

Which meant that I'd miss another connecting flight and not be home until 11pm.

I didn't not hide my frustration around the other waiting passengers. While I was on the phone making new arrangements, the people around me were entertaining Gwen! See? Some people are angels. I decided to leave the next day because I've had enough of airports and planes for one day. I called Holly again and she made the drive back to the airport to rescue me! I bought them all dinner and we ate from a burger place that had an amazing veggie burger and good sweet potato fries. We also got pumpkin shakes. I cannot remember the name of the place! Someone help me out? We ended up staying an extra day in Portland, but it was probably my favorite day of the trip because we all just chilled since we didn't have any plans.
I hope to visit again!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

A couple of weeks ago we went to see the Christmas light display at the Mesa temple. Ryan didn't think that Gwen would enjoy it/understand it, but boy I'm glad that he was wrong! She sat atop his shoulders nearly the entire visit and she kept squealing in delight. She was making such a commotion that Ryan kept asking me if she was okay.
Ryan: "She sounds like she's really upset! Are you sure she's okay?"
Me: "Yes!! She's smiling!"
I didn't get any of that in this video, unfortunately, because Ryan wanted to keep moving along in the large crowds. Next time I plan to have us walk through once to enjoy every aspect of the display and then walk through again to make a cuter video. Ah, the life of a blogger.....
This video isn't the greatest (hello, I'm not even in it (jk jk)), but I'm glad I took the time to make it.

It's here! It's finally here! We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
I hope you are able to spoil the people you love with gifts (literal or figurative), food, hugs, and most importantly, your time. Eat lots of food together and pump up the Christmas music while you're still "allowed to." I know my husband must be sick of all the holiday music I've been playing recently. I may not post again until after the new year, so I'll be seeing ya! I'm hoping to film a lot tomorrow, so you can look forward to that video. Happy Holidays!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

I was showing Gwen this tiny nativity the other day and explaining who the people are in it. I'm 99% sure that she didn't understand a word of it, but it made me feel good to talk about Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. It made me really happy to share the story with her, but it also made me feel kind of sad because I realized then that I should be teaching her things like this every chance I can get. I haven't made any cool traditions with Gwen simply because she won't comprehend or remember those things yet. This time next year I hope to incorporate Christmas stories, songs, and scriptures in our countdown to Christmas.

What fun and/or religious traditions do you have for Christmas time? I'd really love to know!

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Happy holidays, everybody! Christmas time is one of my favorite times of the year, and it's partly because I can convince my husband to take family photos. (Ha!) He's not one to willingly pose for a picture, but since Gwen was born he's been more accepting of having his photo taken if it's with her. It's ridiculously adorable how big a fan he is of Gwen. We have an unspoken Gwen fan club and our meetings include looking through old photos of her on our phones after she's gone to bed.

We made a "photo session swap" with a couple of friends of ours- they took these photos, and I took their maternity photos the same day. We then swapped SD cards so we can edit our own photos. Such a sweet deal! Being a photographer is kind of tough when it comes to completely trusting someone else to take and edit your portraits. Whitni and Brandon did a great job of taking our photos, and I know they would have been great at editing them too, but it's much more fun to do it myself. Plus, we didn't have to wait to receive our photos after someone else was finished editing them. If you're a photographer, I highly recommend this idea!

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Last week I went to a super fun, all girls dance party. It was the best!! Everything was so glittery and sparkly and colorful and amazing. Estrogen! Girl Power! Sweat! I danced for 2 hours and was sore for three days afterward. These dances are probably going to be twice a year, so that's something to look forward to :) I'm always down to dance.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

We were in southern California visiting my mom and her side of the family this Thanksgiving. My birthday was the day after and I wanted to go somewhere fun for the day. I had originally wanted to go hang out at the beach, but seeing how cold it was, that didn't seem like the smartest/funnest place to go. My aunt told us about this place called Oak Glen up in the mountains so that's where we went. We went a little late in the day, so we didn't have much time to explore the whole area before it got dark. But the little spot we did stop in was pretty cute. We had fun window shopping, eating apple strudel pastries, and enjoying the autumn trees and mountain air. It was a chill birthday. Here's to 26!